Collapsible bow arm rest

ABSTRACT

A collapsible bow arm rest extending between the mid-portion of a bow and a pull handle located rearwardly of the bow mid-portion that is secured to the ends of the bow and extends rearwardly of the bow string mid-portion. The bow arm rest is extended from a folded position, along a straight line, to an extended and locked condition. When in the locked condition the front and back arms are prevented from collapsing.

United States Patent 1191 Ramsey Aug. 7, 1973 [5 COLLAPSIBLE BOW ARM REST 3,512,512 5/1970 Wentz 124/24 [76] Inventor $Y fi- Primary Examiner-Richard c. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne Filed: 1972 AttorneyD. Paul Weaver et a1.

[21] Appl. No.: 238,911

. [57] ABSTRACT 52 U.S. c1 124/23, 124/30 R, 124/30 A A collapsible how am test extehdihghetweeh the 51 1m. 01 F4lb 5/00 Portion of a how and a P handle located tearwardly [58] Field 01 Search 124/22, 23, 24, 25, of the bow mid-Portion that is secured to the ends of 124/30 R, 30 A, 41 the bow and extends rearwardly of the bow string midportion. The bow arm rest is extended from a folded 5 References Cited position, along a straight line, to an extended and UNITED STATES PATENTS locked condition. When in the locked condition the front and back arms are prevented from collapsing. 2,982,279 5/1961 Pursley 124/23 X 3,245,393 4/1966 Rose 124/24 15 Claims, 20 Drawing Figures PAIENTED MIG 7 I875 SHEEI 1 BF 3 PATENTEB AUG 7 I975 sum 3 OF 3 FIG. I4

FIG. 13

FIG. 20

FIG. 15

FIG. /7

FIG. [6

COLLAPSIBLE BOW ARM REST BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a bow arm rest for relieving the strain on the bow arm of an archer when he has drawn the bow and is aiming the bow so as to enable him to take steady aim and make a good release of the arrow. Bow arm rests having this general purpose are known to the prior art as exemplified by US. Pat. Nos. 2,926,650; 2,954,765; 3,015,328; and 3,512,512.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The bow arm rest of this invention is so constructed as to be collapsible and to be interposed between the bow and the bow string in both the drawn and undrawn positions of the bow. The bow arm rest is interposed between and secured to the mid-portion of the bow and a pull handle that is located rearwardly of and proximate to the mid-portion of the bow string when the bow string is drawn back with respect to the bow from an undrawn position to a drawn shooting position. The bow arm rest is collapsible and moves from a collapsed position to an uncollapsed position during the drawing back of the bow string, and the bow arm rest is so constructed as to be locked when it arrives in its uncollapsed shooting position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the parts in the drawn shooting position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, to a larger scale, of the parts in the undrawn position with the bow arm rest collapsed;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 2 but with the parts in the drawn shooting position;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a clamping mechanism for clamping the bow arm rest to the mid-portion of the bow;

FIGS. 8, 9, 10, and 11 are views of portions of other types of clamping mechanisms;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the pull handle;

FIG. 13 is a section taken on the line 13--l3 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a section taken on the line 14-44 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a section taken on the line 15l5 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the back part ofa back beam that forms a part of the bow arm rest;

FIG. 17 is a section taken on the line 17-17 of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a partially sectional view of a connection between the back beam and a front beam of the bow arm rest showing the beams in unlocked position;

FIG. 19 is a section taken on the line 19l9 of FIG. 18; and

FIG. 20 is a view similar to FIG. 18 but showing the beams in locked position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The bow 10 includes an upper limb 12 and a lower limb 14. A bow string 16 is secured to and extends between the remote ends of the limbs 12 and 14 rearwardly of the mid-portion of the bow.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, an arm 18 extends along the belly 19 of the butt at the bottom of the upper bow limb l2'immediately above the bow handle 20 and on the opposite side of the bow from an arrow shelf 22 that is secured to the bottom of the upper bow limb 12. The arm 18 extends along the side of the bow and curves about the rear or belly of the bow wherein it has a curved butt 26 that extends forwardly and upwardly of the arm 18. The arm 18 has a pair of spaced fingers 28 and 30 that extend rearwardly on opposite sides of the butt 26. The arm 18 is secured to the bow 10 by screws 32 that extend through holes in an upthrust prong 34 of the arm 18 and are screwed into the bow limb 12. The arm 18 may also be secured to the bow 10 by tape 36 wrapped about the bow limb 12 and the prong 34.

The front end of the arm 18 has a hole 38 that receives the threaded end 40 of a cable 42 (FIG. 7) that is wrapped about the bow belly 19. The cable end 40 extends through the hole 38 and is threaded into a nut 44. A knob 46 at the end of the cable 42 remote from its threaded end 40 is inserted into a catch 48 that is fonned on the butt 26. The cable 42 extends alongside the arrow shelf 22 and is drawn tight about the bow along the inner edge of the arrow shelf by tightening the nut 44 to thus rigidly clamp the arm 18 to the bow.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the cable end remote from the threaded end 40 may have a threaded end 48 that is inserted through a hole 50 of a catch 52 formed on the butt 26 with the threaded end 48 screwed into a screw 54. As another alternative as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the cable end remote from the threaded end 40 may have an eyelet 56 formed thereon that is hooked onto a hook 58 that is formed on the butt 26.

A padding 59 (FIG. 6) of soft material may be placed between the butt 26 and the bow. A thin piece of such material may also be placed between the side of the bow and the arm 18, including the prong 34 of the arm 18.

A pull handle 60 is releasably mounted to the midsection of the bow string 16 and positioned horizontally rearwardly of the belly side and the mid portion of the bow 10. Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 12-15, the pull handle 60 has a heightwise and lengthwise extending shallow groove 62 that receives the bow string 16. Midway of the length of the front face of the pull handle 60 there is located a pit 64. Extending lengthwise and heightwise of the base of the pit 64 is a narrow strip 66 of soft material.

A pair of bow string keepers 68 and 70 are respectively mounted to the top and bottom of the pull handle 60 and extend forwardly thereof. The keeper 68 is formed of spaced long and short fingers 72 and 74 and the keeper 70 is formed of spaced relatively short fingers 76 and 78. The fingers are made of a resilient material such as rubber so as to releasably retain the bow string 16 therebetween. The bow string has knots 80 above and below each of the keepers 68 and 70 to thereby releasably mount the pull handle 60 to the bow string and prevent the handle 60 from slipping up and down the bow string. Additional knots 81 are located on the bow string 16 adjacent the top and bottom of the pit 64.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the front of a front beam 82 extends between the fingers 28 and 30 and is pivoted thereto by a bolt 84. The back of the front beam 82 has a flat top 86 lying in a plane that is parallel to the axis of the front beam and a slot 88 that extends upwardly and rearwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis ofthe front beam 82.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and -17, an arm 90 is secured to the pull handle 60 and extends forwardly thereof alongside the pit 64. The arm 90 veers away from the pit 64 so as not to interfere with an arrow seated in the pit as described below. The front end of the arm 90 is formed into an upwardly facing shoulder 92. A back beam 94 has its back end formed into a pair of spaced fingers 96 and 98 that straddle the front of the arm 90. The fingers 96 and 98 are pivoted to the arm 90 rearwardly of the shoulder 92 by a bolt 100. The area where the fingers 96 and 98 join the back beam 94 is formed into a downwardly facing shoulder 102 that is complementary to the shoulder 92.

Referring to'FIGS. 2, 18, and 19, the front of the back beam 94is formed into a housing having a ceiling 104 and a pair of spaced flanges 106 and 108 that depend downwardly of the ceiling 104 and that receive the back of the front beam 82. The beams 82 and 94 are pivotally connected to each other by a pin 110 that extends through the flanges 106 and 108 and is slidably received in the slot 88.

The front of the back beam 94, the back of the front beam 82 and the slot 88 are so dimensioned that when the pin 110 is at the back of the slot 88, as in FIG. 18, the top 86 of the back of the front beam 82 is spaced from the ceiling 104 of the back beam housing when the beams 82 and 94 lie on parallel axes and the rounded back end 112 of the front beam 82 carr'clear the ceiling 104 when the front and back beams swing with respect to each other about the axis of the pin 1 10. When the pin 110 is at the front of the inclined slot 88, as seen in FIG. 20, the back of the front beam 82 is wedged upwardly so that its top surface 86 bears against the housing ceiling 104 when the beams 82, 94 lie on parallel axes to thus constrain the beams against relative movement.

When the bow is not in use, it is in the FIG. 2 position with the beams 82 and 94 extending upwardly. In using the how, the archer the nocked portion of an arrow 114 into the pit 64. The arrow is notched at its back so that it straddles the bow string 16 and bears against the soft strip 66 between the knots 81 as indicated in FIG. 15. While the archer is grasping the bow handle with his bow hand, he grasps the pull handle 60 and the bow string 16 with the base of his thumb bearing against a thumb crotch rest 116. on the back of the pull handle 60 and his three drawing fingers 115 (the fore finger, the second finger, and the third finger) extending over the front of the pull handle 60 and the bow string 16. (See FIGS. 2-4.) The forefinger and the second finger straddle the arm 90 and the arrow 114. The front of the arrow at this time is seated on thearrow shelf 22 and the parts are in the FIG. 2 position.

The archer now pulls back with his drawing arm to cause the drawing fingers of his drawing arm to pull back on the bow string 16 and the pull handle 60 thus drawing back the arrow 114. At the same time, the archer pushes forwardly against the bow handle 20 with his bow hand. These movements cause the front beam 82 to swing downwardly about the axis of the bolt 84 and the back beam 94 to swing downwardly about the axis of the bolt until the beams 82 and 94 are in alignment with each other and the shoulder 102 is seatedon the shoulder 92. The archer pulls back sufficiently to enable the pin to bear against the back of the slot 88, at which time the arrow 114 is about rt inch further back in the bow than its shooting position. At this time, the front end of the bow arm rest formed by the beams 82 and 94, the arm 18, and the arm 90 is forced solidly against the belly 19 of the bow with the butt 26 bearing against the belly. The archer now re leases the pulling force of his drawing fingers so that the forward pull of the bow string 16 on his drawing fingers causes the crotch of his thumb and forefinger (see FIG. 4) to push against the thumb crotch rest 116 of the pull handle 60 to thus push the pull handle, the arrow 114, and the back beam 94 forwardly until the pin 110 is seated against the front of the slot 88 in the FIG. 20 position with the beams 82 and 94 constrained against relative movement. This brings the parts to the position shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 wherein the bow arm rest is locked in shooting position. At this time, the drawing fingers, the thumb-forefinger crotch of the drawing hand bearing against the thumb crotch rest 1 l6, and the parts 18, 82, 94, and 90 take up the stress of the bows pull thereby relieving the bows tension on the archers bow arm which enables the archer to take steady careful aim with his arrow and make a good arrow release, the length of his arrow draws being consistent for all shots. After the archer has taken aim, he may shoot the arrow by merely relaxing his drawing tingers and moving them out of the way of the bow string 16 so that the bow string moves forwardly out of the bow string keepers 68 and 70.

After making his shot, the archer pulls the back beam 94 rearwardly with his drawing fingers to move the pin 110 to the back of the slot 88 (FIG. 18) and provide clearance between the back of the beam 82 and the front of the beam 94. He then lifts the arm 90 by making an upward twist of the pull handle 60 or by manipulating his finger under the arm 90 just back of its juncture with the back end of the beam 94. This causes the shoulder 92 to lift the shoulder 102 so as to raise the beam 94, the pin 110 and the beam 82 with the beam 82 swinging about the bolt 84,50 that the beams 82 and 94 move out of alignment, thus enabling forwardly directed pressure exerted on the thumb crotch rest 116 to fold the beams 82 and 94 to the FIG. 2 position. The archer then mounts the pull handle 60 to the bow string 16 by means of the string keepers 68 and 70.

If when the bow is in locked shooting position the archer decides to return the bow to the FIG. 2 position without shooting the arrow, he performs the steps described above with respect to folding the beams 82 and 94 after shooting the arrow.

When an archer is hunting, he would maintain the bow in the undrawn FIG. 2 position with an arrow nocked on the bow string 16. With the foldable bow arm rest of his invention that is entirely interposed between the bow and the bow string and thus not protruding beyond the bow or the bow string, the bow arm rest does not get in the way when the hunter is stalking game with the bow in the undrawn FIG. 2 position.

In the drawings, the connected ends of the folded beams 82, 94 rest about midway between the bow string 16 and the upper bow limb 12 when the bow is undrawn. The length of the beam 82 between the bolt 84 and the pin 110 and the length of the beam 94 between the pin 110 and the bolt 100 are shown to be about equal so that the two beams will fold together evenly. However, by making one of the beams shorter than the other, the tops of the folded beams can be closer to the upper bow limb 12 or the bow string 16.

If desired, the construction may be altered so that the beams 82 and 94 fold downwardly between the bow string 16 and the lower bow limb 14.

I claim:

1. In combination, a bow having a strung bow string secured to the respective ends of the bow; an extendable bow arm rest; a pull handle attached to a free end of the bow arm rest has to be gripped by a user for extending said bow arm rest rearwardly of the mid portion of the bow while said bow string is being pulled by the user, said pull handle being located proximate to and rearwardly of the mid portion and the belly side of the bow when the bow string is in a relaxed condition; said bow arm rest being connected to and extending between said pull handle and the belly side of the bow; said bow arm rest including folding means for permitting said bow arm rest to be folded to a collapsed condition when said pull handle is moved horizontally, essentially paralleling the path that an arrow would take when intially released from a cocked position of the bow, to a position closely adjacent the mid portion of the bow.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said bow arm rest includes a back beam positioned forwardly of said pull handle and a front beam positioned rearwardly of the mid portion of the bow; each of said beams having forward and rearward ends respectively; said arm rest folding means comprises a means for pivotally connecting the rearward end of said back beam to said pull handle, means pivotally connecting the forward end of said front beam to the mid portion of the bow, and connecting means for pivotally connecting the rearward end of the front beam to the forward end of the back beam, whereby rearward movement of the pull handle from an undrawn to a drawn position causes the beams to move from a folded to an aligned shooting position; and locking means for locking said front beam and said back beam against relative pivotal movement when in said aligned position.

3. The'combination of claim 2 further comprising: means so constructing said connecting means and said locking means as to permit forward-rearward movement of the back beam with respect to the front beam when the beams are aligned; means responsive to forward movement of the back beam with respect to the front beam for locking the beams when the beams are aligned; and means responsive to rearward movement of the back beam with respect to the front beam from said locking position to unlock the beams to thereby permit said relative pivotal movement.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said connecting means and said locking means comprises: a slot in the back of the front beam extending upwardly and rearwardly of the longitudinal axis of the front beam; a pin mounted on the front of the back beam that is slidably received in the slot; and a housing at the front of the back beam having a ceiling overlying the back of the front beam so dimensioned as to be spaced from the top of the back of the front beam when the pin is in a rearward position in the slot with the beams in their aligned position and to bear against the top of the back of the front beam when the pin is in a forward position in the slot with the beams in their aligned position.

5. The combination of claim 3 further comprising: an arm mounted on the pull handle and extending forwardly thereof; pivot means pivoting the back of the back beam to the arm for last mentioned upward swinging movement with respect to the last mentioned arm between a collapsed position and an extended position for shooting; and limit means limiting the extent of downward swinging movement of the back beam to a prescribed position whereby, when the back beam is moved rearwardly with respect to the front beam from said locked condition, the forward position of the back beam may swing upwardly of said prescribed position to start the movement of the beams to a collapsed position.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said limit means comprises: an upwardly facing shoulder located on the arm connected to the handle forwardly of the pivot means; and a complementary downwardly facing shoulder located on the back beam forwardly of the pivot means when the limit means and the shoulder are in engagement with each other.

7. The combination of claim 2 further comprising: an arm mounted to the mid-portion of the bow and extending rearwardly thereof; means pivoting the front of the front beam to the last mentioned arm; a butt in the last mentioned arm bearing against the belly of the bow; and clamping means rigidly clamping the last mentioned arm to the bow.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said clamping means comprises: a cable mounted at one of its ends to the arm and extending tightly about the bow.

9. The combination of claim 2 further comprising: a pit located in front of the pull handle for receiving the nocked portion of an arrow; an arm mounted on the pull handle alongside the pit and extending forwardly of the pull handle; and pivot means pivoting the rearward end of the back beam to the front of the last mentioned arm.

10. The combination of claim 1 further comprising: mounting means releasably mounting the pull handle to the bow string mid-portion and extending rearwardly thereof.

11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said mounting means comprises: at least one pair of spaced resilient fingers that releasably receive the bow string therebetween.

12. The combination of claim 11 further comprising: spaced knots on the bow string adapted to straddle the fingers.

13. The combination of claim 1 further comprising: a pit located in the front of the pull handle for receiving the nocked portion of an arrow.

14. The combination of claim 13 further comprising: a strip of soft material in the base of the pit for receiving the nocked portion of an arrow.

15. The combination of claim 13 further comprising: spaced knots on the bow string adapted to straddle an arrow when an arrow back is received in the pit. 

1. In combination, a bow having a strung bow string secured to the respective ends of the bow; an extendable bow arm rest; a pull handle attached to a free end of the bow arm rest to be gripped by a user for extending said bow arm rest rearwardly of the mid portion of the bow while said bow string is being pulled by the user, said pull handle being located proximate to and rearwardly of the mid portion and the belly side of the bow when the bow string is in a relaxed condition; said bow arm rest being connected to and extending between said pull handle and the belly side of the bow; said bow arm rest including folding means for permitting said bow arm rest to be folded to a collapsed condition when said pull handle is moved horizontally, essentially paralleling the path that an arrow would take when intially released from a cocked position of the bow, to a position closely adjacent the mid portion of the bow.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said bow arm rest includes a back beam positioned forwardly of said pull handle and a front beam positioned rearwardly of the mid portion of the bow; each of said beams having forward and rearward ends respectively; said arm rest folding means comprises a means for pivotally connecting the rearward end of said back beam to said pull handle, means pivotally connecting the forward end of said front beam to the mid portion of the bow, and connecting means for pivotally connecting the rearward end of the front beam to the forward End of the back beam, whereby rearward movement of the pull handle from an undrawn to a drawn position causes the beams to move from a folded to an aligned shooting position; and locking means for locking said front beam and said back beam against relative pivotal movement when in said aligned position.
 3. The combination of claim 2 further comprising: means so constructing said connecting means and said locking means as to permit forward-rearward movement of the back beam with respect to the front beam when the beams are aligned; means responsive to forward movement of the back beam with respect to the front beam for locking the beams when the beams are aligned; and means responsive to rearward movement of the back beam with respect to the front beam from said locking position to unlock the beams to thereby permit said relative pivotal movement.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said connecting means and said locking means comprises: a slot in the back of the front beam extending upwardly and rearwardly of the longitudinal axis of the front beam; a pin mounted on the front of the back beam that is slidably received in the slot; and a housing at the front of the back beam having a ceiling overlying the back of the front beam so dimensioned as to be spaced from the top of the back of the front beam when the pin is in a rearward position in the slot with the beams in their aligned position and to bear against the top of the back of the front beam when the pin is in a forward position in the slot with the beams in their aligned position.
 5. The combination of claim 3 further comprising: an arm mounted on the pull handle and extending forwardly thereof; pivot means pivoting the back of the back beam to the arm for last mentioned upward swinging movement with respect to the last mentioned arm between a collapsed position and an extended position for shooting; and limit means limiting the extent of downward swinging movement of the back beam to a prescribed position whereby, when the back beam is moved rearwardly with respect to the front beam from said locked condition, the forward portion of the back beam may swing upwardly of said prescribed position to start the movement of the beams to a collapsed position.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said limit means comprises: an upwardly facing shoulder located on the arm connected to the handle forwardly of the pivot means; and a complementary downwardly facing shoulder located on the back beam forwardly of the pivot means when the limit means and the shoulder are in engagement with each other.
 7. The combination of claim 2 further comprising: an arm mounted to the mid-portion of the bow and extending rearwardly thereof; means pivoting the front of the front beam to the last mentioned arm; a butt in the last mentioned arm bearing against the belly of the bow; and clamping means rigidly clamping the last mentioned arm to the bow.
 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said clamping means comprises: a cable mounted at one of its ends to the arm and extending tightly about the bow.
 9. The combination of claim 2 further comprising: a pit located in front of the pull handle for receiving the nocked portion of an arrow; an arm mounted on the pull handle alongside the pit and extending forwardly of the pull handle; and pivot means pivoting the rearward end of the back beam to the front of the last mentioned arm.
 10. The combination of claim 1 further comprising: mounting means releasably mounting the pull handle to the bow string mid-portion and extending rearwardly thereof.
 11. The combination of claim 10 wherein said mounting means comprises: at least one pair of spaced resilient fingers that releasably receive the bow string therebetween.
 12. The combination of claim 11 further comprising: spaced knots on the bow string adapted to straddle the fingers.
 13. The combination of claim 1 further comprising: a pit located in the front of the pull handle for receiving the nocked portion of an arrow.
 14. The combination of claim 13 further comprising: a strip of soft material in the base of the pit for receiving the nocked portion of an arrow.
 15. The combination of claim 13 further comprising: spaced knots on the bow string adapted to straddle an arrow when an arrow back is received in the pit. 